Stealing the Sea
by StarOfFeanor
Summary: The Giant war is over. It's a new school year and Percy heads back for his final year of high school. But why exactly is the God of Thieves teaching gym? •Percabeth never happened• ***Note- will be boy x boy. Don't like? Don't read.***
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story request from Peetato1989. It was a request for a Hermes x Percy story. I've actually always wanted to try writing one of that pairing so here we are.**

 *****Note*** the only thing in this story that won't be cannon is that Percabeth never happened. Why? Because if you have read any of my other stories you'll know that I feel obligated to write realistic break ups between the two and this is only going to be a short story.**

 **Hope you enjoy! :-)**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

I always thought that my life was highly unusual. I mean, how many people can say that they are the children of an Olympian god? Even fewer can say that they've helped save the world twice before they even graduated from high school.

One day you're helping to defeat the giants and Gaia, the next your mom tells you it's time to go back to school shopping. I was currently sprawled out on my bed while my best friend, Annabeth, sat in my computer chair.

"She's just worried about you Percy. You only just got home. We were all pretty freaked when you were abducted. Hera..."

I groaned and covered my face with a pillow. "Can't anyone let me forget that? It was one time! Just because one god kidnaps you doesn't mean that it's going to happen again. I mean, you were captured on the orders of a Titan, that doesn't mean that every one of them is going to do it."

Now don't get me wrong, I love my mom. She is the best person in the entire world. Yet ever since I came home from Greece, she seems extra protective. Like she is worried some god is going to kidnap me... again.

The daughter of Athena shook her head in amusement. "I don't even get what you're so upset about. So your mom wants to take you shopping to get your school supplies. What's wrong with that? You'll get to spend a whole day with her. We both know that you love spending time with Sally."

"Ya but I'm seventeen! I'm more then capable of buying paper and pens without my mom. How many other people our age still go shopping with their parents?"

Annabeth gave me a look that I couldn't decipher. "Percy, do you know how many people from camp would walk across hot coals to have what you have? To have a mom that loves you and would do anything for you?" I bite my lip in guilt. I hadn't really thought about that. "Besides, did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason she wants to go with you is that this will probably be the last year that she can? You're graduating this year. If we do what we've been talking about and move to New Rome next fall, she won't be able to."

I frowned and glanced at her from under my pillow shield. "I guess I never thought about it that way."

"She is probably just sad that her baby boy is growing up."

I sighed and I sat up. I guess it wasn't that big of deal. Besides, I did love spending time with my mom. "I suppose you're right.

Wisdoms daughter laughed. "Why do you sound surprised?"

My response was to introduce my pillow to her face.

ΩΩΩ

It was actually a ton of fun. My mom and I made a whole day of it. Since Paul was at the school getting his office ready for the start of term, it was just the two of us. We did the school shopping first thing in the morning to get it out of the way before she took us to the aquarium that I had always loved as a kid.

The downside to any place with an abundance of sea life was the fact that all of the fish were clamoring for my attention. I felt a little bad for everyone else who was there. When I introduced my mom to the three dolphins, I couldn't help but laugh at their responses.

 _"This is your mother, child of Poseidon? She must be a wonderful lady indeed to have attracted the attention of our lord."_

 _"Only one of great character could have given birth to a hero such as yourself."_

 _"I must concur with my brethren my lord. I am sure that she must be considered a great beauty among your people... even if she does have such a small nose."_

We ended up having to leave before the dolphin show started. They were ignoring their trainers and only focusing on showing off for us.

The best part of the day though was when we made a stop at a candy store on the way home. We both left with a big bag of different types of blue candy. I couldn't remember the last time that I had spent such a wonderful day with my mom. By the time we got home, my mom insisted that I head to bed since I had to be up for my first day of school tomorrow and we both knew that I wasn't a morning person.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing way to end a stressful but exciting summer vacation.

ΩΩΩ

School was surprisingly pleasant.

I hadn't realized just how much I had missed it. Don't get me wrong, there were tons of things that I hadn't missed. Like having to struggle with my dyslexia read the small print in my textbooks, trying to sit still for hours on end while my math teacher went on and on about something to do with triangles... Honestly, they are three sided. How much else are you really going to need to know in the real world? And of course the ever present, over whelming, press of bodies while trying to make your way to your locker to get your books for your next class.

Yet I really didn't seem to mind it. After spending more than half a year wandering around fighting monsters while I didn't even know who I was, trying to stop the two camps from killing each other, fighting my way through Tartarus, helping to stop the end of the world... let's just say, school was a surprisingly nice break. I couldn't help but think how nice it was to deal with normal mortal problems for a while and not have to worry about Greek gods and mythical monsters.

That was, at least, until my last class of the day...

ΩΩΩ

I had been getting a weird feeling of anxiety for the last half of the day. It wasn't the feeling I got just before a monster attacked me but still a strange feeling, like something was about to happen. I decided to simply brush it off.

The feeling was getting more pronounced as I changed into my gym clothes and headed out to join my classmates. I found myself looking over my shoulder repeatedly as we waited for our teacher. My classmates were beginning to give me strange looks but I didn't care. Something was about to happen and I wouldn't be able to relax until it did.

When the instructor walked through the door my heart stopped.

I saw a flash of blue eyes and short sandy blond hair. I stiffened and my hand instantly went to my pocket where my trusty pen riptide was. I heard the teacher chuckle at my actions and I froze.

That was not the laugh I had been expecting. Upon closer inspection, I realized that he didn't have a scar on his cheek. What's more was that his eyes, though mischievous, held more of a playful hint then the demented look I had come to expect from Luke. He may have born a shocking resemblance to my first crush, but it was not him. However he did look strangely familiar...

Once he met my gaze, I felt a jolt of recognition and my jaw dropped. He simply winked at me before turning his attention to the rest of the class.

"Hello. My name is Hermes and I am the new gym instructor this semester."

It took me a few moments to remember to close my mouth. My jaw snapped shut and I looked around in embarrassment only to find that I wasn't the only one who was staring slack-jawed at our teacher. Most of the girls in the class and at least a few boys were also doing it, though I was fairly certain that it was for a different reason.

I could easily see why so many were staring though. He looked to be in his late twenties. He had outdoorsy good looks, a slight tan, and eyes so blue they made the sky jealous. Not to mention the way that his t-shirt hugged his surprisingly muscular chest. Let's just say there was a reason for the expression, 'body of a Greek god'...

Hermes seemed to be extremely pleased by the class's reaction to him. He met my gaze once again and raised an eyebrow. I couldn't help but laugh.

My laughter seemed to shake my fellow students out of their daze. One of the girls who had literally been drooling over him stepped forward with her hand raised. Hermes motioned for her to speak and she bit her lip in what was obviously supposed to be an enticing manner. It was all I could do not to laugh. Judging by the way his eyes crinkled, Hermes felt the same.

"You said your name is Hermes? Like that messenger guy from Roman mythology?" Her attempt to look smart failed with her confusion of myths.

"Actually, the Roman's called the god of messengers Mercury. The Greeks were the ones who called him Hermes." I hadn't even realized that I had spoken my thoughts until the class turned to look at me. I coughed slightly and looked away from their gazes.

The god of messengers look highly amused. "Percy is correct but yes, exactly like the Greek god of messengers. Anyway, that's enough about me. Why don't we start with 20 minutes of laps?"

Everyone groaned but they started to run anyway. After everyone else left I went over to the god of thieves.

"Why are you here?"

Hermes raised one brow, "Really? Is that anyway to talk to a god?"

I blushed, "Sorry. I just meant, what are you doing? Is everything okay?" A thought hit me and I grimaced, "PLEASE tell me there is not another prophecy."

The god of travellers just laughed, "No, fresh out of prophecies sorry. Besides, what makes you think I'm here for you? Couldn't I just be living a lifelong dream of being a high school gym teacher?" I gave him a disbelieving look and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, so no one dreams of being a high school gym teacher. Either way, I still didn't say I was here for you."

I felt my eyebrows pull together. "So if you didn't come here to get my help, then why are you here?"

He laughed once more, "Careful of that ego Percy. No one likes a narcissist." I opened my mouth to argue before he rolled his eyes, "Just go run already."

I was still a little wary about him being there but I nodded and turned around to start running. It was only after class had ended that I realized he never did answer my question.

ΩΩΩ

I have to admit, of all the strange things I've done, having my gym class taught by a Greek god was still near the top of that list. It had been almost a two months but I still had no idea as to why he was there. Every time I would try to ask him he would smoothly change the conversation. The worst part was, I never even realized until after one of us had walked away.

Eventually I just quit asking. Since he was my teacher, we didn't really get to talk all that much but when we did have a chance to speak, it was strangely enjoyable. He was funny and always had amusing anecdotes to tell about all of the gods.

The best gym class though was definitely Halloween. He showed up to class wearing a toga and carrying his caduceus. I wouldn't have thought that any guy would look good in a dress but I had to admit, he made it work.

I blushed and looked away. From the corner of my eye I could almost swear that I saw him smile.

"So for this class we will be doing something different. Since it is Halloween, I thought that we could do something fun, therefore..." He reached behind his back and pulled out a wooden sword wrapped in foam. I could have sworn that it hadn't been there before but since he was a god, I didn't bother thinking on it too much. "We're going to learn how to sword fight."

The excitement in the room was palpable. After all, who doesn't like swords?

He showed everyone a few basic moves and then had us practice them. I have to admit, my excitement for the idea faded. I had forgotten that no one else in my class would have had five years of extensive sword training.

Hermes came to stand next to me, "What's up Percy? I thought that this would be something that you would enjoy. I was under the impression that you loved sword training at camp."

I bit my lip in guilt. It almost sounded like he had planned this lesson for me. I shook my head to dispel the thought. There was no reason he would do that.

"I do like it. I just forgot that everyone else here is a beginner."

His eyes widened in understanding before he frowned, "Humm. I didn't think of that." He tapped his chin for a moment before he smiled. "I know; why don't you and I spar together? There are an odd number of people in this class anyway."

I was more than a little surprised at the offer. I had never heard of a god willing to fight with a demigod just for fun. Then again I had never heard of one teaching gym either...

I flashed him a grin, "Sure, that sounds great."

The only other god I had ever fought was Ares. True my technique had gotten a lot better, but I also still relied heavily on my powers too. I didn't dare unleash them in a sparring match, let alone the middle of a mortal class. Plus side, at least Hermes couldn't use his godly powers either.

I managed to hold my own but only barely. Our fight was fast paced and brutal. True we were only using the same practice swords as everyone else, but we both treated it as we would a real fight. I was more exhausted and happy then I remembered being in a very long time.

Our fight lasted until he got a phone call a few minutes before class ended. We both paused when Martha spoke.

 _Lord Hermes, we have Zeus on the line for you... Oh and hello again Percy._

I smiled and gave a wave as the god of messengers frowned. "Tell him I will call him back."

 _I don't know if that's such a good idea. Remember what happened last time? He made sure that the council meeting went on for 37 hours straight. It took you months to catch up._

"Yes I remember George." The god of thieves frowned and turned to look at me. "I have to take this."

I nodded. It sucked that class was cut short. I liked spending time with him. He had always been one of my favorite gods. "No worries, I will see you next class."

He gave me a smile before he went to dismiss the rest of the students early.

 _It's not polite to ignore us._

I shook my head to dispel my thoughts and turned back to Martha and George. "Sorry. I didn't mean to. I was distracted."

 _We could tell._

 _Be nice George._

I smiled, "So how are you guys doing? It's been a while."

 _We are well thank you. Your correct, I believe the last time we saw you was when you rescued us from that horrible giant._

 _Humm... yes it was. I remember there being a lot of tasty rats that day. Do you happen to have any now?_

"Sorry, I don't have any rats on me."

 _That's a shame. They're delicious._

 _Now George, if you keep asking for rats he's going to think that's all you want from him._

I laughed and shook my head in amusement. "That's alright. I will bring you guys some next time." I was surprised that I had not seen George and Martha since Hermes had been teaching. His phone was usually ringing off the hook. I still couldn't even fathom how he found the time to teach my gym class every day. I felt my eyes widen as something occurred to me. If I couldn't get answers from the god, maybe I could get them from someone else. "Hey, do you guys know why Hermes is teaching a gym class? I can't figure it out."

I heard Martha's hissing laughter. _It's rather obvious Percy._

"What is?"

 _You really don't know? Hermes..._

"You're free to head home Percy."

I glanced back at Hermes. He looked livid but his anger didn't seem to be directed at me.

 _I think you made the boss angry George..._

"I'm sorry, I..." I wasn't sure where I was going with my apology but it didn't matter as it was cut off.

"It's okay Percy. Now if you'll excuse me..."

 _Good-bye Percy._

I waved farewell and he gave me a quick smile as he turned away.

As the door closed behind him I heard George say,

 _We were only trying to help..._

ΩΩΩ

It had been a week since Halloween and I had yet to see Hermes again. Gym just wasn't as fun with a substitute.

I was over at Annabeth's house. Her dad had recently gotten a job in New York. Both of us were incredibly excited when her family moved from here from San Francisco. No one liked their best friend living clear across the country. Plus it was so much easier to go to her for advice when we didn't have to worry about having enough drachmas...

"I just wish I had thought to ask a little bit sooner. He was just about to tell me!"

The daughter of Athena rolled her eyes and laughed. "It really is obvious sea-weed brain."

I sat up from my spot on her bed. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it is?"

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Just think Percy, you can figure it out."

I pouted. "Please Annabeth?"

Wisdoms daughter frowned at me. "You really don't know?" I shook my head and she sighed. She looked like she was just about to give in to the 'baby seal face' when her dad came in.

She immediately seized the opportunity to turn her back to me, "Hey dad."

 _So close..._

"Hey honey. I just came to see if you needed anything."

I did my best not to roll my eyes. Any time I came over he made sure to stop in to ask us about 7 times.

"No, were good thanks."

He nodded. "Okay, just making sure."

When he left he made sure to leave the door wide open.

I shook my head. "He does know I'm gay right?"

Annabeth sighed. "Ya, but he doesn't believe it. I made the mistake of telling him you though Calypso was beautiful and now he's positive that you're just pretending."

I scoffed, "That's stupid. Just because I don't like girls in that way, doesn't mean I can't think they're pretty. You can think someone is attractive without being attracted to them."

She laughed, "I know. He's just worried about me. That's all."

I smiled at her. I knew how much their relationship meant to her. Her father had been so distant for so long that it was nice to know that they got along again.

She glanced at the door once more before she turned back to me. She looked at me for a few moments before she shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you Percy. You either figure it out or get Hermes to tell you."

I groaned. "You're mean."

"I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**I have decided to change this story to an M rating. Don't worry; I will make sure to clearly mark the start of lemon or lime sections.**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

It was mid-November before Hermes came back to class. I asked him, but he just told me that he had work to catch up on. It didn't make any more sense than before. I couldn't figure out as to why he would be spending so much time at school when I knew for a fact that he was one of the busiest gods.

Once he was back though, we fell into our old routine. I would hang around after class for fifteen to thirty minutes just to hang out. I felt like I must be bothering him but he never seemed to mind. If anything, he seemed happy to chat with me.

It was a few days before Christmas break when I had to interrupt our cycle. I was trying my best not to waist the time I did have to spend with the god of travellers, but he knew me far too well.

"What's wrong Percy?"

I sighed, "It's nothing important. I just have to leave right after class."

"Oh..." He shrugged it off like it was nothing but I could tell he was sadden by the revelation. "It's okay. I will see you tomorrow then."

I winced and looked down. "Actually I can't. I have detention every day till Christmas break."

He looked surprised. So was I to be honest. I had managed to keep myself from getting in trouble all year and the very first time I did, I got three days worth of detentions? It seemed highly unfair. I knew it was just because my history teacher didn't like me.

His surprise transformed into a smirk I could only term devious. "Were you being a bad boy Percy?"

I blushed brightly and looked away. That sounded a lot more sexual then I was sure he meant it to.

"Wow Hermes. That was incredibly cliché."

He chuckled and flashed me a wink. "I know. I just couldn't resist the perfect opportunity to use that line."

We both decided to drop the topic of my detention. When class ended, I gave him a wave and reluctantly went to change before going to detention. I was really depressed by the thought of missing my time with Hermes. It had become the highlight of my days.

Considering it was almost Christmas, I knew no one else would be there. They would just go home instead. The only reason I didn't skip it was that Paul would know. I knew how hard Paul had worked to get me my credits for the missed classes last year, I didn't want to repay his hard work by making him look bad.

I sighed and grudgingly walked into the detention room. I was right; I was the only person there. Even the teacher who usually watched to make sure that people actually stayed wasn't there.

I threw my bag onto the desk beside me and took a seat next to the windows. I had two hours to kill. I could start on my homework but, since that sounded about as fun as wrestling the entire Ares cabin at once, I decided to look out the window at the field instead.

After what felt like years but was probably only five or ten minutes, the door finally opened. As no one called me out on wasting time that I could be using more effectively, I assumed that another student must have decided to show up after all. I didn't bother turning around.

I was lost in thought when someone whispered in my ear, "What are we looking at?"

I jumped in surprise and turned around to see Hermes smiling at me as he took a seat on the top of my desk. I felt my heart do a little dance in my chest.

"Hermes? What are you doing here? Doesn't Mrs. Ault usually watch the detention?"

The god of travellers shrugged. "I offered to cover it for a few days and let her go home early." I blinked in shock a few times before I felt a smile spread across my face. The god of thieves laughed at my reaction. "So I take it your okay with that?"

I laughed, "Of course! Which sounds more fun to you? Sitting in a classroom trying not to fall asleep or hanging out with your friend?"

His smile looked almost strained for a moment but before I could be sure, he had smoothed it out to his normal grin. I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion but I decided to shrug it off.

 _Probably seeing things..._

"So what exactly did you do that landed you in detention anyway?"

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I got a bunch of questions wrong on an open book test so my teacher decided that I was trying to be funny."

He looked confused for a minute. "What do you mean a 'bunch'? If it was an open book test, shouldn't it have been easy?"

I blushed and looked down at my hands. "I mixed up a whole bunch of dates and names. I have dyslexia. The words kept spinning off the page and I couldn't read them properly. She thought I just didn't care."

The god of travellers looked surprised for a moment before he frowned. "Well that is unfair."

I shrugged but didn't disagree with him. "There is a plus side though..." He raised one eyebrow in question and I smiled. "I do get to spend extra time hanging out with you now."

ΩΩΩ

It was hands down, the most fun I had ever had in detention. Usually I couldn't stay too long with Hermes after class because I knew that people would start talking. I didn't want to get him in trouble and I definitely didn't want to have to go through the process of explaining to the principle that nothing was going on. Therefore, 20 minutes was about all the time that we could spend together after of class. Having two hours of time just for the two of us was awesome. It made me wish that we could hang out outside of school too, but I didn't want to ask him. If Hermes was already spending so much time with me in school, I didn't want to make him take even more time off work. It wouldn't be fair. He was a busy god.

We talked about a bunch of stuff and he even helped me with my homework. I have to admit, essays about history are a lot more fun when you have someone who lived through the wars sitting beside you, telling you cool things. Of course I couldn't write about how George Washington was actually the son of Athena, but it was still interesting.

Though, I would be lying if I said that having him lean over my shoulder as he read out the information for me wasn't the biggest plus. The downside was that feeling his breath on my ear was distracting. I had to ask him to repeat things quite a few times. Yet he never once seemed to mind.

I had to forcefully remind myself several times that he didn't mean anything by it. We were friends and I will admit that I found him very attractive, but our relationship was strictly platonic. Sure he occasionally flirted but, judging by how many kids he had, that was just a part of his personality. He was my buddy; just because I found him good-looking didn't mean I was going to risk a good friendship over it. I just had to keep my thoughts, and my hands, to myself.

Still though, hearing him chuckling in my ear caused me to have very nice dreams when I went to bed...

ΩΩΩ

When I handed in my history homework during first period, the teacher announced that we would be having a second open book test. The look she gave me as she said it left no doubt in my mind that she had decided it based on my abysmal score the day before. If I hadn't already double checked that she was a mortal, I would have sworn that she was another monster posing as a teacher.

I sighed in defeat but I pulled out my textbook. This was going to be excruciating. I was handed my test and flipped open to the section that we were studying. It took me a few seconds before I realized something wasn't right.

The words were staying still and were clearly legible. When I recognized exactly why that was I couldn't stop the grin from appearing on my face.

 _Hermes you are amazing..._

I flipped to the cover. It looked the exact same as my old one had. The only difference was that at the top, in bold print were the words, ' _Ancient Greek Edition'_. I had no idea how the god of thieves had pulled that one off but I owed him, big time.

ΩΩΩ

I walked into gym class with a big grin on my face. I headed over to where the god of travellers was in the process of wheeling out a cart of basketballs.

"I love you."

I heard the son of Zeus suck in a quick breath before he spun around to face me with a look of astonishment on his face. "Could you repeat that?"

I laughed and my smile grew even bigger. "I have no idea how you managed to find those books, but thank you. I think that is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

When it had come time to switch out my books for the next subject, I discovered that it wasn't just my history book. Hermes had changed every textbook in my locker with an ancient Greek version.

He smiled at me and I could have sworn that he was blushing. "No problem Percy. I'm glad I could help."

I glanced around the gym to make sure we were alone before I stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. He stiffened in surprise before he quickly returned the embrace. I chuckled at his enthusiastic response which caused him to lean his head against mine and tighten his arms further. The feeling of his arms around me was doing weird things to my stomach.

When I stepped back, I was positive that he did indeed have a slight flush on his cheeks. "I owe you one Hermes.

I heard the doors to the gym open and I decided to head over to where my classmates were gathering. I flashed him one more smile before I left to join them.

ΩΩΩ

Since tomorrow was the last day before Christmas vacation, I had no homework. Instead Hermes and I decided to play some basketball in the gym instead. I had thought that yesterday's detention was good but playing sports was infinitely more fun than essays.

True I didn't get to have him pressed against my back while he explained things to me, but it was even better since once we had played for an hour or so he decided that he was warm enough to remove his shirt. It was all I could do not to ogle the muscles that his t-shirt had only hinted at.

When I flushed at the sight, he noticed, which then prompted him to tell me that if I was too hot, I could feel free to remove mine as well. Rather than having the awkward conversation about how that's not why my face was red, I decided to do it.

I must admit, I noticed a rather large drop in my abilities. I suppose that it made sense though as I had to forcefully tear my gaze away from his abs almost every time he took a shot.

I still didn't lose to badly though. I was fairly certain that was because he was getting tired as his shoots also seemed to be slightly less accurate too.

When the detention was over, he followed me into the change room to shower. I felt my breathing pick up. I was instantly grateful for the fact that Goode had individual shower stalls. A lot of my old schools only had one room with multiple spouts. I was doing my best not to let me gaze drop anywhere it shouldn't, but I was not nearly strong enough to take a shower with him.

ΩΩΩ

I was already done showering and was changing back into my jeans when Hermes finished. He walked over to where I was doing up the button on my pants, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and looking far more tempting than anyone had a right too.

He smiled at me and leaned against the wall next to my locker. My eyes unconsciously slid down the plains of his chest to focus on the top of the 'v' that I could see just above his towel.

In order to avoid doing something stupid, I said the first thing that came to my mind. "I have to admit, I never knew detention could be so enjoyable."

The god of messengers gave me a playfully flirty look. "I'm glad that I could make your punishment so pleasurable."

I felt my eyes widen and tried to force the blush from my cheeks.

That sentence went straight to my groin. It sounded so wrong yet so damned right. He may have meant it jokingly, but my mind instantly supplied me with several different yet equally enticing situations that it could be applied to.

My attraction to him was getting out of hand. Yes he was gorgeous, but I lots people were good-looking. I wasn't sure why a simple attraction was affecting me so much. I was almost afraid to delve too much further into my feelings for the god of messengers. I wasn't entirely certain I wanted to know what I would find.

I took a deep breath and tried to slow my heart beat. I needed to get out of there.

I had to clear my throat before I could speak. "I should probably go. I'm supposed to meet Annabeth soon."

I saw his shoulders tense and his eye's darkened a little, "The daughter of Athena?"

I was confused by his sudden mood change. He almost looked angry for some reason. "Ya, we are going to watch a movie. If I don't leave soon I'm going to be late."

His smile fell. He definitely looked upset. "Very well, I will see you later Perseus."

Before I could ask him what was wrong, he turned and walked away. I was left reeling. I felt a sharp pain in my chest at his sudden departure.

 _What the Hades did I say?_

ΩΩΩ

"I have no idea what I did. I must have done or said something stupid though. He's never called me Perseus."

Annabeth was sitting cross legged on my bed while I paced my room.

"Just sit down Percy, your making me dizzy." I reluctantly sat beside her. "Now, what happened before he suddenly stormed away. What were you doing?"

I sighed and flopped backwards. "Nothing, I was just standing there."

"Well, what were you guys talking about then?"

I shrugged and blushed. I knew I could tell her anything. The two of us had talked about the 'assets' of guy's lots of times. We even had a crush on the same boy at one time, though we both did our best not to think about Luke. It was just that Hermes was different from everyone else...

"Well?"

I shook my head to dispel the thoughts. "Sorry, about that. Umm... I uh, was trying not to stare too much. I think I already mentioned that he was only wearing a towel? Anyway, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. It was about how I didn't know detention could be so nice. And he said..." I coughed and had to look away before I could say it, "He said he was glad he could make my punishment so pleasurable."

Annabeth burst out in laughter and my cheeks got progressively darker. "Oh wow, that was a pretty blunt statement."

"I know... I still can't believe he said that. I mean, how could he not realize how that sounds? Anyway, my mind went straight to the gutter and I had to get out before I did something really stupid. So I told him how I was meeting up with you because we were going to go watch a movie. Then he got mad and left."

She didn't say anything after I finished so I looked over and saw her staring at me like I was the biggest idiot she had ever seen. "You said that?"

I frowned, "Ya, so?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You are an idiot."

"Why, what did I do?"

"Honestly, you deserve to have 'sea-weed brain' tattooed on your forehead."

I pouted, "Hey!"

"He was jealous Percy."

I blinked in shock before I felt my eyebrows furrow together. "What are you talking about? Why would he be jealous?"

She brought a hand to her head and rubbed the spot between her eyes. When she looked up, she seemed to have come to a decision. "Let me ask you something Percy, how do you feel about Hermes?"

If I was confused before, I was completely lost now. I shrugged and answered her regardless, "He's great. He is one of my best friends."

"Okay, let me reword that. How do you feel about him, as in romantically?"

I tilted my head, "I don't get what you mean."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think he's attractive?"

I didn't even hesitate to answer, "Of course."

"Do you enjoy spending time with him?"

"Well, ya."

"If he kissed you, would you push him away?"

"Why would he kiss me?"

"Just answer the question."

I thought about it for a moment, "No I wouldn't push him away. But I still don't get why he would be kissing me."

"Well, you're sweet, funny, caring, loyal, and attractive. If you weren't gay, I would have kissed you."

I blushed at the complements but the last half of the statement was just plain weird. I didn't want to imagine kissing Annabeth. "Thanks I guess."

She laughed, "What I am trying to say is, if you found out that he liked you, would you want to date him?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "He's straight Annabeth. He has kids."

She rolled her eyes. "So do Apollo and Zeus and both of them have dated guys. Greeks were a lot more understanding about the whole 'love who you love' thing."

"I've never seen Hermes check out any guy."

The look she gave me said that she thought I was stupid but she rolled her eyes and decided to drop it. "Whatever. Either way, if he did like guys, would you date him?"

I thought about her questions. He was a really good friend. I definitely enjoyed spending time with him and there was no question about whether or not I found him attractive. So therefore, if he liked guys, would I be interested in dating him?

He was a god. Both Annabeth and I were living proof that gods weren't the most faithful. They were well-known for their short relationships. I would never be more than a casual boyfriend. Plus, I had friends in the Hermes cabin. I would have to go back to camp, knowing that I had dated their dad. That would be really weird.

The more I thought about it though; I could easily see the two of us together. It would be hard, knowing that I was just one of several mortals in his life. The hardest part would be knowing that any relationship was doomed to fail before it started, but that still didn't change how I felt about him...

I felt my jaw drop when I realized what I had just thought.

"Holy Poseidon! I have a crush on Hermes!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I was expecting to have updated this sooner however a combination of no time, the flu, and general lack of desire to do anything useful made it late. To make it up to you, it's super long.**

 **This chapter is dedicated to the random stranger with awesome taste in books that I meet in Value Village the other day. Seriously, what's more fun than meeting people that share a bunch of your fandoms?**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

To say my revelation surprised me would be like saying Kronos was a little bad.

The knowledge that I had romantic feeling for the god of travellers forced me to re-examine all of our interactions. I could now understand why Annabeth always gave me 'the look' when I talked about him.

When I looked back, it was painfully obvious that I cared about him as more than just a friend. I wasn't sure how it hadn't occurred to me before. All of the times that I had hung around school just to spend time with him, all of the times I had caught myself staring at him, the way that I had to remind myself not to do anything stupid...

I wondered if he had been aware that I was unconsciously flirting. He hadn't said anything, but how could he not have noticed? Maybe he had noticed but was ignoring it because he didn't feel the same way...

I rolled my eyes and frowned at the thought.

Of course he wouldn't feel the same. Even if I ignored the fact that he was straight, Hermes was older than me. He would probably want someone more mature. He wouldn't want someone who had a Finding Nemo poster in their bedroom. Plus, he was a god. If he wanted to date a mortal guy, he'd probably go for some famous Hollywood actor. Even if he could ignore all that, he was my teacher. The prospect of him having a crush on me was laughable.

I sighed and lay back down on my bed. The sooner I got rid of my unrequited crush the better. I didn't want to lose a good friend over it.

ΩΩΩ

Walking into to gym class the next day, I felt like everyone could tell that I had feelings for Hermes. I knew that I looked the exact same as yesterday, but you can never get rid of that suspicion. You feel like everyone can see something is different about you.

 _I need to stop watching cheesy teen movies..._

I was surprised that Hermes wasn't there yet. He was there before I was every day. He had this weird obsession with being early. I frowned at the knowledge that I wouldn't get a chance to talk to him before class, but I consoled myself with the fact that I would have extra time to get a hold of myself. Just because I realized I liked him was no reason to act any different.

He came in just as the bell rung.

"Okay, let's warm up with ten minutes of laps." I smiled at him but he didn't return it. He simply nodded and turned away. Something was wrong. I frowned and walked up to him. For a moment I thought he was going to ignore my presence but he sighed and turned to me with one raised eyebrow. "Yes Perseus?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

I felt my frown deepen. I didn't like seeing him look so upset. "Something's bothering you. You can tell me Hermes, we're friends."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. He shook his head and looked away with a grimace. "Just go run."

I didn't want to leave but I had a feeling that if I didn't, he would go all 'vengeful god' on me.

ΩΩΩ

He seemed distracted the entire class. He usually came over to chat or joke with me frequently. If he wasn't talking with me he was smiling at me from across the room. The fact he wasn't made me wonder if his bad mood was left over from yesterday.

I tried to think of a way to apologize for whatever I did but that was difficult considering I didn't really know what I did to upset him in the first place. I didn't believe Annabeth about him being jealous. I could think of nothing that he would be jealous over.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize someone was talking to me until they called my name.

"Percy!"

I jumped in surprise and looked over to see a blond girl looking expectantly at me. I had no idea if she had been talking to me for a while or if she had just come over. I knew her by face, but I had never spoken to her before. I was fairly certain that her name was Chantel, but I couldn't remember for sure.

I coughed and focused my attention on her. "Umm hi..?"

She gave me a bright, nervous, smile, "Hey Percy."

When she didn't say anything else, I felt my confusion grow. "Can I help you?"

She nodded. Her anxious actions were beginning to make me worry. Nothing good could come from this...

"I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me."

I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. "WHAT!"

I blushed when I realized that the entire gym had heard my outburst. Chantel however seemed amused by it. "I said, I think we should go out..."

I shook my head in disbelief. I was so shocked that I couldn't even remember to tell her why that wouldn't work.

"Is there a problem here?"

I looked away from the brown eyed girl beside me with relief. That was not a conversation I wanted to continue. My relief faded however, when I was met with the hostile blue gaze of the god of thieves. I had never seen Hermes look so angry.

I was very grateful when Chantel answered for us. "No, were fine. We're just discussing something."

If anything, Hermes looked even more pissed off by her casual response. He didn't even look away from me when he answered, "Maybe you should save your conversation till after class then."

I nodded and was about to go back to practicing basketball like we were supposed to be doing, when she caught my hand.

I will just say, a furious god is a scary thing. If he had been angry before, he was livid then. He looked ready to vaporize someone. For the first time since he came over, Hermes switched his glare to her.

She didn't even seem to notice that she had just pissed off a Greek god. She simply smiled and entwined our fingers. "I'll come with you baby."

I blushed. I really didn't want to be having this conversation in front of my crush, but it seemed that it was necessary. I pulled my hand out of her grasp.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're a nice girl and everything but I'm not interested in going out with you."

She looked at me like I had just insulted her. "Why?"

"I'm gay."

"What? Since when?"

I raised one eyebrow, "Umm... since I was born?"

"Oh." She looked ready to die from embarrassment. "Okay then. See you around."

She walked away and I couldn't help but shake my head. "Well that was awkward for everyone..."

I hadn't even realized that Hermes was still standing next to me until I turned back around. My shoulders tensed. He didn't seem to be angry anymore but I couldn't understand his expression.

I felt my cheeks darken. "Sorry about that."

"You're gay?" I didn't know what I expected him to say, but it wasn't that.

"Ya," I frowned as I realized that he might be old fashioned about homosexuality, regardless of the activities of his father and half-brother. "That's not a problem, is it?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head, "Not at all. I just wasn't sure..." He trailed off and gave me a small smile before turning and walking away.

I didn't know what he was talking about but I decided to ignore it. At least he looked happy again.

ΩΩΩ

Whatever weird mood he had been in earlier had completely faded by the time class was over. He was back to smiling and teasing me. I wasn't sure what caused his abrupt change in mood but, as long as he was back to normal, I was glad for it.

He got a call right before class ended. He glanced at the display on the phone and sighed. "I have to take this."

I gave him a questioning look but he just shook his head before turning around and dismissing the class early. He told me that he would meet me in the detention room. Before anyone could respond, he left to take his call.

ΩΩΩ

I was fine with meeting him there since I had to grab some stuff from my locker anyway. I waited until the halls had mostly cleared before I grabbed the box.

I was glad that I didn't meet any teacher on my way to the room as I would not have been able to explain why I was carrying what I was carrying. Unless it was Paul; then I would have to explain even more.

I wondered if Paul knew that his co-worker was a Greek god. He had accepted our world fairly quickly, but I still wasn't sure how he would react to having coffee with an immortal being. I smiled as I imagined Paul reaction when/if he learned the truth.

"What has you in such a jolly mood?"

I jumped in surprise as I turned to face the god of travellers. I was beginning to question as to whether my hearing was getting worse or if the god of thieves just liked sneaking up on me. "Hey." He chuckled at my reaction but it looked forced. "What's up?"

The blue eyed god sighed, "I have to go. I have a package that needs to be delivered ASAP."

"Oh..." I had been looking forward to spending a few hours with my friend/crush but I understood. "No worries."

I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice but judging by his scrutinizing expression, I was pretty sure I failed.

He gave me a look that was an odd mixture of hesitant and hopeful. "You know Percy, you could come with me if you'd liked."

I felt my eyes widen and I tried to keep the smile from my face. "Are you sure I wouldn't bother you?"

The god of Theives laughed at my reaction. "Not at all, it'll be nice to have the company. Come on, my trucks out back."

I held the box tighter and followed him to the door. He laughed when he saw what I was carrying, but he didn't say anything.

ΩΩΩ

When Hermes had said his truck was in the back lot, I had expected a pick-up truck or something. Instead, I saw his Olympus Postal truck sitting right between Paul's Toyota and the principles Mazda.

"Nice ride." The god of messengers gave me a dirty look. I shook my head laughing as I climbed in. "So where are we going anyway?"

He smiled as he started the car and backed out of the stall. "Not too far, just to a factory on the other end of the city." He gave me a devious look and smirked. "Don't worry; you'll be home before your bed time."

I rolled my eyes, "Ha ha, very funny."

He chuckled.

ΩΩΩ

The drive across town was slow.

I wasn't surprised considering it was a Friday, during rush hour, right before Christmas. Any one of those would be enough to spell 'traffic jam' but all together, it was painfully slow. I was fairly certain that I could walk faster than we were moving.

Usually, sitting in a car for long periods of time would be enough to drive me insane. However chatting with Hermes made it fun. The god of travellers had a way of taking things I normally hate, and making them enjoyable.

It took us a few hours to make it to the other end of the city. The god of Thieves pulled up to the loading bay and put the car in park.

"I'll be back in a minute, watch George and Martha for me."

I gave him a nod. He grabbed a large container and jumped out. I watched until he disappeared inside the building.

 _Hello Percy._

I looked down and smiled at the cell phone, "Hi Martha, hi George. How has work been? I haven't seen you guys since Halloween."

 _We're rather busy this time of year, but we are well. Thank you._

 _Much better than we were after our last conversation at least..._

 _Quit sulking George._

I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion for a moment before I remembered. I winced, "I take it I got you in trouble?"

 _Yes._

"I'm sorry."

 _It's alright Percy. You didn't do anything wrong._

I rubbed the back of my neck. I had to be one of the only people on the planet to ever feel bad because I had caused a snake to be scolded.

"I take it that means you won't be telling me whatever it was you were going to then."

 _You are correct._

 _I'm sorry dear, Hermes' orders._

"It's okay. I understand." I had been hoping they would have told me but I wasn't really surprised that Hermes had ordered them not to. Whatever reason he had for being there, he didn't seem to want to share it. I cast my eyes around the car for a change of topic when my gaze caught on the box at my feet. I laughed as I reached down to grab the box I had taken from my locker. "By the way, I have something for the two of you."

I held up the box so that they could see. It was a plain white plastic box with the words 'Paradise Pets' written on the side. Almost as though they could sense the presence of the snakes, the box started squeaking.

 _You remembered our rats!_

I laughed, "Yep, Merry Christmas."

 _Oh thank you Percy, that was very kind of you. Wasn't it George?_

 _Indeed, can we eat them now?_

"Of course, they're your presents."

They unwound themselves from around the cell phone and slithered through one of the air holes.

I shook my head at their obvious excitement. I had to remember to thank Annabeth for the idea. I would never have thought of buying them a gift otherwise.

The daughter of Athena had suggested that I get something for Hermes to show him that I had feelings for him. While I definitely wasn't ready to admit that I had a maybe not so small crush on him, I did think that it would be a good idea to get him a Christmas gift as a friend.

I had left her house early and hit the mall. I had never been very good at shopping for Christmas Gifts, but fate must have been on my side. After only about twenty minutes I found the perfect gift. I bought it and was on my way to the doors when I passed a pet store. I remembered the promise I made to George and Martha and decided that it would be good to have a Christmas gift for them too.

I was shaken from my recollection when the driver's door opened. I looked up just in time to see Hermes jump back in with a big smile on his face.

"Sorry for the wait."

I shook my head. "No problem."

He looked down and saw George and Martha just returning to their place, the box conspicuously silent. He laughed, "So I take it they liked their gift?"

I chuckled and was just about to respond when a big gust of wind blew through the still open door. My laughter died as I caught the scent of something I had only smelt once before. I blinked in surprise and breathed in again, deeper than before. I felt my eyes drift closed, the scent lulling me into a dreamy state.

"Whoops, sorry about that." I heard the door close and the lack of scent was like a splash of cold water to my muddled mind. "Percy..?" I shook my head, trying to dispel the rest of the allure. I opened my eyes only to realize that I had unconsciously leaned in towards Hermes, our faces mere inches apart.

I gasped at the unexpected closeness. My brain told my body to move back, but it wasn't cooperating. I opened my mouth, only to close it again when nothing came out. I felt frozen in place. In some vague corner of my mind that could still function, I noticed that he hadn't moved back either.

My eyes were drawn to his mouth when his tongue instinctively flicked out to wet his lips. I bit my own lip in response and looked back up to meet his gaze. I felt my cheeks darken at the hungry look in his eyes.

I wasn't sure who leaned in, but we were suddenly closer than before. The air felt charged and my pulse was racing. Our lips were just a hairsbreadth away when I caught sight of someone watching us.

I must have made some sort of acknowledgement as Hermes turned around and looked back at the building.

I felt the breath whoosh out of my lungs. Whatever strange atmosphere that had held me still was broken at the sudden distance between our lips. I pulled back into my own seat. I shook my head to clear it and looked to see who was there.

A woman, who looked to be around 25, was standing in the doorway, watching us with what could only be called delight. She was wearing a slinky black dress that would have made most girls self conscious. She had wavy blond hair and sky blue eyes. My suspicions as to her identity was confirmed when her hair momentarily shifted to pitch black curls and her eyes darkened to a chocolate brown that bore an embarrassing resemblance to a certain son of Hades that I had briefly had a crush on a few years back.

My embarrassment only increased when her hair and eyes shifted back. The way she was looking between the two of us left no doubt as to why her appearance had changed for me.

My face achieved a new level of red when she glanced at me with one raised eyebrow and winked. I wanted nothing more than to melt into the door frame.

Being caught one second away from kissing your teacher was mortifying enough, but being caught by the love goddess was a million times worse.

The god of travellers cleared his throat and nodded to Aphrodite before throwing the car in reverse and driving away. I didn't miss the fact that he was studiously avoiding eye contact since I was doing the same.

ΩΩΩ

It took almost half an hour before either of us broke the silence. The god of travellers didn't mention anything about the incident, so I decided to follow his lead. Though it wasn't as awkward as it had been, it wasn't the easy conversation that we had shared on the way to Aphrodite's factory either.

The atmosphere in the car still hadn't completely returned to normal by the time we got back to our side of the city.

Hermes pulled up to a restaurant just down the block from my mom's apartment so that we could have dinner. I tried my best not to read other intentions into the way he held the door opened for me.

I knew the almost kiss was my fault. Hermes may not have pulled back, but I was the one who leaned towards him in the first place. The only reason I had come up with for why he hadn't pulled back was the love magic. I had smelt it once before on Aphrodite's scarf. It had probably made him temporarily want to kiss me. It almost made me thankful that the love goddess was there. It would have been a million times worse for him to kiss me and then remember that we were only friends. That would have been hard to explain while not lying to him and keeping my secret.

I had known of my crush for 24 hours and I already nearly kissed him. That had to be some sort of record for worst kept secret.

I left Hermes to get us a table while I went to use the pay phone. I was shocked that they still had one but I was also pleased. I had completely forgotten to call my mom to tell her I was going to be home late.

The phone rang three times before she picked up.

"Hello?"

I smiled, "Hi Mom."

I could hear the relief in her voice. "Percy, I'm glad you called. I was starting to worry. Where are you? Your detention ended hours ago."

I shuffled my feet in guilt, "I'm sorry. No need to worry, I'm fine. I went to hang out with a friend afterwards. I completely forgot to tell you that I was going to be out late, but I should be home in about an hour or so."

"Okay, no problem honey. You don't need to rush home. I just didn't know where you were. Have you had dinner yet?"

"We're just about to get a bite to eat."

"Oh? Are you hanging out with Annabeth again?"

"No I'm..." I couldn't very well tell her I was hanging out with a Greek god/one of my teacher. I refused to lie to her but I didn't need to tell her the whole truth just this once. "I'm hanging out with a guy from school."

There was silence for a moment before she answered, "Percy... are you on a date?"

I felt a blush rush to my cheeks, "No!" I winced; even I could hear how defensive I sounded. Her disbelieving hum made it even worse. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. My voice was much more resigned when I explained, "It's not like that between us mom."

I could hear a note of understanding in her voice. "But you like him don't you."

I bit my lip, "Ya. I do."

"Well it's his own fault if he doesn't like you then. He doesn't know what he's missing."

I was beginning to feel like my blush would never fade. "He doesn't know how I feel about him."

I could practically feel her amused smile, "Honey, how is he supposed to know you like him if you don't tell him?"

"I can't tell him mom. It's... complicated."

She laughed. "Love always is when you're young."

I shook my head. "Trust me; this is a little more so then usual. Besides, I'm pretty sure he's straight."

"What makes you think that?"

I bit my lip. I wasn't used to keeping secrets from my mom but this was one of the rare occasions which it was necessary. "I know for a fact that he's dated a lot of girls in the past."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't like boys too. I mean, he's taking you out to dinner is he not?"

I blushed. "It's not a date mom." I looked over my shoulder and saw Hermes raise one eyebrow in question from across the restaurant. "I have to go. He's waiting for me. I'll see you later."

"See you when you get home Percy."

"Bye," I hung up the phone and walked over to our table.

I sat down and tried to force the blush from my cheeks. It had been bad enough considering I had feelings for him and we had almost kissed. It was even worse now that my mom was calling it a date.

The god of travellers smiled, "So what's with the blush?"

I shook my head and looked down. "My mom thought that this was a date."

He looked surprised but not offended by the idea. "Oh? And what did you say?"

I shrugged, "I told her the truth, that you're straight."

He gave me an incredulous look. "Percy..."

"Are you ready to order?" Whatever he was going to say was put on hold while we placed our order.

The waiter was very friendly. His name tag identified him as James. He had dark brown hair and grayish blue eyes. He would have been the most attractive guy in the restaurant if it wasn't for the fact that I was sitting across from Hermes. The god beside me set the bar a little too high for most mortals to be able to compete.

James suggested I get the meat lovers pizza rather than the pepperoni. Apparently the pepperoni wasn't very good. I figured since he worked there, he would probably know. He took our orders and left with a wink.

I had expected the god of travellers to finish what he was saying before, but he didn't.

James was a very smiley, talkative, guy. He came by a few more times before we got our food just to make sure we were doing alright. Whenever he left again, he always did so with a joke or a wink. For some reason though, the more times he came by, the angrier Hermes seemed to get.

We got our meal and I was glad that I had taken his advice. The meat lovers was one of the best pizza's I had ever had.

After our meal, James brought the bill by and slid it towards me with a smile. Before I could pick it up though, Hermes took it. The god of messengers glared at the waiter as he walked away. He opened the bill and his glower increased.

I looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong? Did they give us the wrong bill?"

The god shook his head and let out a huff of breath. He passed me a strip of paper. "I think this is meant for you."

I took the piece of paper he offered me. When I saw what was written on it, I gave it a blank look. "That's weird. Why would he give me his number?"

The god of travellers rolled his eyes. "Not really that weird considering he's been hitting on you the entire time we've been here."

I felt my eyebrows pull together in confusion. "What are you talking about? No he wasn't."

His look of disbelief slowly faded into one of confusion. "You really couldn't tell he was flirting with you?"

I felt my eyebrows pull together, "No. Are you sure he was?" The pointed look he gave me had me glancing away in embarrassment.

Now that he seemed to understand that I hadn't known James was flirting, he seemed to find the situation a lot more entertaining. "How exactly did you not know? He was pretty obvious."

I blushed and glared at the god. "How exactly is being friendly obviously flirting? By that definition I flirt with nearly half the camp. Why can't people just outright say, 'hey, I think you're cute. Do you want to go out sometime?'"

Hermes laughed, "Not everyone is that open."

I huffed. "It would save a lot of misunderstandings."

The god of messengers gave me an indecipherable look. He seemed to come to some sort of decision. He cleared his throat and paid for the entire bill before I could grab my wallet. I thanked him but he just brushed it off.

ΩΩΩ

I had expected him to leave considering I was only a block away from my house, but he insisted in walking me to my door. I was beginning to get uncomfortable. It felt too much like a date. Not that I would be upset if it was, I was simply uncomfortable because no matter how much I wanted it to be, it wasn't a date.

I was so busy trying to convince myself that it didn't mean anything, that I didn't realize we had already reached my apartment building. I blinked in surprise and turned around to say good-bye only to realize that he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was looking at the roof.

"What is that?"

I followed his line of sight and my entire body froze. Someone from the building had hung a sprig of mistletoe just about the entrance. "Oh, that's... mistletoe."

"Why would you hang it on the ceiling?"

I was pretty sure I had blushed more today than I had in my entire life. "It's tradition for two people who are standing under it too..."

"Too, what?"

I couldn't meet his eyes when I said it, "Too kiss."

"Well, I suppose if it's tradition..."

I just had enough time to register Hermes' words and look up in surprise before I felt a pair of soft, warm, lips being pressed to my own. I gasped in surprise and the god of thieves took it as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. His tongue gently brushed over my bottom lip before diving in to steal a taste. I couldn't think of anything other than the feeling of his tongue plundering my mouth.

It could have been a minute or a month later that he pulled away. I hadn't even realized that I had wrapped my arms around his shoulders until he stepped away with one last kiss to my lips.

"Good night Percy."

My brain didn't start working again until he was out of sight.

I somehow made it upstairs and into my room in a daze. I fell back onto my bed and put my hand to my lips. I could still feel the ghost of Hermes lips against mine.

 _What in Hades was that..?_


	4. Chapter 4

***cough* I have no excuse...**

 **It's not as long as I was planning but I just wanted to get this part posted before people thought I had abandoned it. Hopefully my next chapter won't take nearly as long to post.**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. I was too busy trying to figure out why Hermes would kiss me. He did mention something about doing it just because of tradition, but would he really kiss another guy just because of that? I couldn't see myself kissing a girl just because I was under the mistletoe with her, but he is a few thousand years old. Tradition could be a big deal to him. Then again he hadn't even known as too why the mistletoe had been hung. Would he really be that devoted to a tradition that he hadn't even celebrated before?

I found myself wondering if Annabeth might be right. I knew that Hermes obviously wasn't gay, but that didn't mean he wasn't bisexual. If Hermes really did like guys though, what would be the chances that he would like me? Yet no matter how strange of a thought it was, the fact remained that he had kissed me. No matter what he said, I found it very hard to believe that he would only do so because of a tradition he doesn't even celebrate.

I didn't fall sleep until the sun was already starting to rise.

ΩΩΩ

I didn't really do anything the first day of my break. I just sat around our living room, relaxing and watching Disney movies. I was tired. Even though I had been up incredibly late, I had still woken up at a normal time.

I was immensely grateful that my mom didn't ask about my supposed 'date'. If she had, I would have had to tell her the truth. That he had kissed me. Then there would have been no way that she would have ever let me get away without calling it a date. Plus, she would insist on meeting him. That would not end well for anyone.

The second day of our break, Annabeth came over so that we could do our homework together. I was planning on waiting until the last minute to do it, but the daughter of Athena promised to help me if I was responsible and did it at the beginning. At least I got one day off before being thrown back into school work.

Since our teachers had decided that we didn't need to sleep, they had buried us both in essays. Annabeth ended up staying the night so that we'd be able to work together and get it done the next day. It wasn't quite as nice doing homework with my best friend as it had been when I had Hermes breathing the words into my ears, but at least I got more done.

Both Paul and my mom were proud that I had finished my homework first rather than waiting till the night before I went back to rush through it. Even if it had taken the first few days of my break, at least I was now free to do as I wanted for the rest of the vacation.

ΩΩΩ

The day after our homework was finished, I began feeling closed in. I never liked staying in our apartment for days at a time. I needed to go outside just for a change of scenery.

It wasn't until I was putting on my coat that I realized I hadn't giving Hermes his gift. I was planning on giving it to him once I gave George and Martha their rats but after the near kiss, I had completely forgotten. It was fairly forgivable I guess. I was only mortal and having ones crush nearly kiss you is bound to make you forget a few things. Still, now I wouldn't be able to give it to him until the New Year.

As I walked along the street, I frowned. I hadn't really thought about the fact that I wouldn't see Hermes again for over two weeks. I had gotten used to seeing him five times a week. I didn't like the thought of not knowing why he had kissed me until school started again. If I had to wait until January for answers, I'd probably lose my mind.

My feet had brought me to the little park down the street from our apartment. It wasn't empty, but there weren't many people either, just a couple with a stroller and an old man with a dog. I found a bench and sat down with a sigh. I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my hands.

I had never been particularly good at understanding what to do with relationships. My main go-to people were Annabeth and my mom. I could hardly tell my mom that I had been kissed by a Greek god, so that cut my options in half. I told Annabeth what had happened, but her only advice had been that I should ask Hermes.

Her plan made sence, but there were two problems. One, I wouldn't see the god of travellers again until after Christmas break. I wasn't certain I would still be sane if I couldn't figure out an answer by then. The second problem was that I wasn't certain that I would have the guts to do it. Kill the Minotaur? No problem. Stop a war? No problem. Save the world multiple times before I can even legally drink? No problem. That was a different kind of courage though. I had been on a couple dates, but they had always ended up asking me. I just wasn't very good with the whole 'love' deal. I got tongue twisted and never knew what to say.

I wasn't sure how long I had sat there before I felt someone take a seat beside me, "Something on your mind Perce?"

I felt my spin stiffen at the familiar voice. My head shot up and I looked to the side to see none other than the god of Thieves. "Hermes!"

He chuckled, "The one and only."

"What are you doing here?"

He raised one eyebrow in amusement. "Believe it or not, I do live in New York."

"Oh, right." I felt myself blush.

"So what's going on Percy? You look like you have a lot on your mind."

I winced. This was exactly what I meant. It was the perfect opportunity to ask what I wanted to know and I had no idea how to go about it. I rubbed the back of my neck. When I dropped my hand again, I felt it hit against the box in my pocket. It may not have been the main thing I was thinking about but it was one of them. Plus, it would give me more time to try to ask what I really wanted to know.

I pulled the little box out of my pocket and gave it to him. "Here, I bought this for you. I kinda forgot to give it to you yesterday. Merry Christmas, Hermes."

He looked surprised, but he quickly recovered and took the box from me. Now that I had actually given it to him, I was nervous about his reaction. I hoped he didn't think it was stupid...

He opened the little black box and I saw his eyebrows jump in surprise. I found myself starting to babble.

"I know it's a little weird, but I saw it and I just thought it was a cool idea. I know technically it's a medic alert pendent, but it has you're caduceus on it. And since they are designed to be engraved, I got the back done for you. Obviously it doesn't have and allergy information on it, but I..."

I was cut off when Hermes put a hand over my mouth. He gave me a soft look. "It's sweet."

Hermes dropped his hand and I found myself blushing. "Read the back."

He flipped the pendent over and started to laugh. I joined in. The saleslady had given me a funny look at the request, but she had done it. The reverse was engraved with the words '#1 gym teacher'. I had hoped that he would find it amusing.

When he finally got his laughter under control, he fixed me with a warm smile. I couldn't help but return it.

"Thank you Percy." I felt my heart rate pick up at the affectionate tone in his voice. He seemed to sense it. His eyes dropped to my lips.

Before I could think of a response to his words, he leaned in and kissed me.

ΩΩΩ

I felt my breath catch in my throat. It was a different type of kiss then the one we had shared under the mistletoe. It was softer, yet just as passionate. I felt like my soul was melting with every slow caress of his lips.

I hadn't even realized that I had stopped breathing until he pulled away. The first breath made my head spin. He was looking at me, waiting for some kind of reaction, but it was all I could do to try and restart my brain.

"Say something?" If it wasn't for the fact that he was an immortal, I would have sworn that he looked nervous.

"I... umm... wow?" I winced internally. That was definitely not one of my brighter moments, but Hermes didn't seem to mind.

The god of Thieves chuckled. "I can work with that answer."

With that said, his lips descended on mine once more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Holy cow... when did this story get so popular? I just looked and suddenly it's at 100 followers. When did that happen? LMAO.**

 **Sorry for the second short chapter in a row, I just really want to end this one here. I hope to have another update this week but I make no promises.**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

 **Note***- Will be boy x boy. (I promise, it is coming) Don't like? You don't have to read.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

I shivered in pleasure at the feeling of Hermes lips against mine. No matter how many times he kissed me, I had a feeling it would always make my head spin. I had wanted to ask him exactly why he was kissing me, but he didn't really give me the chance.

I wasn't a complete idiot; it was rather obvious now that he like me. I just didn't know where he was hoping that this was going. Was he just lonely and wanted someone to make-out with for today, or was this something more? Did he want me as a boyfriend? I was desperate to ask but at the same time, I had no interest in jinxing my luck. It wasn't every day that such an incredibly attractive guy wanted to kiss me.

This wasn't just any attractive guy though. It was Hermes, one of the most stunning gods on Olympus. Plus he was my best friend. He knew more about me than almost anyone. Then there was the whole forbidden aspect to it too. Not only was he a god, but he was my teacher. That instantly made him even more tempting, if that was even possible.

 _**Hints of citrus**_

I lost my train of thought when his tongue darted out to stroke the crease between my lips and I instantly opened my mouth for him to explore. He wasted no time before diving in for a taste. I felt my heart stutter in my chest as his tongue coerced mine into a dance. I hadn't even realized that I was pulling him closer to me until I felt the arm of the bench digging into my back while Hermes was practically lying on top of me.

His lips left mine but before I could do more than offer a whimper of protest, I felt his mouth begin to trail a line of kisses and nips down my throat. I gasped at the sensation as I automatically tipped my head to the side to give him more room to explore. I heard his pleased hum at my actions and it caused a shot of arousal to go straight to my groin.

When he nipped at a sensitive spot just above my shoulder, I felt my hips buck up into him. His hands clenched a little tighter at my reaction before I felt him bite down hard on the spot. I let out a hiss but he instantly soothed the slight pain by running a soft tongue over the spot. He then proceeded to suck and nibble at the incredibly sensitive point. I tangled my hands into his golden locks as I felt my body beginning to shake at the onslaught of pleasure.

He gave a hard suck and I couldn't stop the moan that slipped from my throat. I opened my eyes, surprised that the noise had come from me. I hadn't even realized I had closed them. Now that I had a brief reprieve from my pleasurable haze, I realized just how much attention we were getting. I had forgotten for a moment that we were in public. The park may have been mostly vacant but the people who were there were giving us shocked and disapproving looks.

I instantly blushed to my hairline. Hermes didn't seem to realize what was happening. I tightened my hands in his hair and tugged his face up. I hadn't expected him to let out a pleasured groan at the action. It was almost enough to distract me again, but I managed to keep my focus.

The god of thieves looked up at me only to notice that my attention was elsewhere. He followed my gaze to those watching us. I felt him stiffen for a moment before he sighed and reluctantly pulled back.

 _**Citrus is over**_

I sat up and tried to straighten my shirt a little. I saw Hermes doing the same thing before trying to fix his hair that I had left in disarray. I didn't bother with mine since it always did what it wanted to anyway.

The god of travellers stood up and offered me a hand. The disapproving looks we were getting from the other people in the park had me accepting it and leading him away before they decided to call someone to complain about us. We hadn't done anything illegal, but I still didn't want to risk my mom finding out I was making out with a guy in a public park, that was bound to cause awkward questions.

Once we were back on the sidewalk, I realized that I didn't really know where we should go. Hermes clearly picked up on my indecision and started leading me back towards my apartment building. I tried to hide my disappointment at the knowledge that he was planning on leaving so soon.

We stopped in the doorway. Before I could say anything or even dig out my key, the god of athletes wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me flush with his body. I tried to keep the blush from my face when he leaned down to nip at my neck once more.

I didn't even have a chance to say why making out in front the building in which my mom lived was bad idea before he pulled back with a sigh and leaned his forehead against mine.

His voice was a little husky when he spoke, "As much as I would rather spend my day here with you, I have to go. We have a big meeting on Olympus today."

I had to swallow against the arousal I felt at hearing that he too was affected. "Oh right. It's the winter solstice today isn't it?"

The god of travellers nodded looking frustrated. "Yes."

I felt my eyebrows draw together in confusion, "From what I've heard, it's a big party.

"It is."

"Why do you look so upset then?"

The god of thieves pulled back just enough to give me a mischievous look. "Because it means that I can't spend all evening doing this..."

Before I could offer any form of resistance, not that I would have, the son of Zeus joined our lips in an electric kiss. When he started to pull back, I found myself automatically following him. The god chuckled and playfully nipped at my bottom lip before he stepped back.

"As much as I don't want to go, if I don't leave now, I doubt I will."

I felt myself blush. "I wouldn't mind if you stayed."

I watched as his pupils dilated in arousal. He chuckled darkly and brushed his hand gently along my cheek. "And that is exactly the reason that I don't want to go, but I have to. Preferably before either of our fathers begin to wonder where I am and decided to look for me. I'm guessing you don't want Poseidon to know you've spent the afternoon making out with me."

I winced, "That would be bad."

He chuckled and leaned back in to steal one more quick kiss before he left. "I'll see you tomorrow Perce."

He flashed me a wink. I had to avert my eyes as he began glowing and when I could look back, he was gone.

ΩΩΩ

I went back upstairs rather reluctantly. It was amazing to be able to see Hermes again so soon rather than waiting till school started again, and it was even better knowing that I would see him again tomorrow, but that didn't help the fact that I had just as many questions now as I did before I spoke to him.

I opened the door to our apartment and hung my jacket on the hooks by the door.

My mom stuck her head out of the kitchen with a smile before it changed into a surprised look. Before I could even comment on the change however, her expression turned into a knowing smile. "How was your walk honey?"

I was more than a little lost about her rapid change in expressions. "It was good."

"Where did you go?"

I shrugged, "I just went to the park down the street."

She raised a questioning eyebrow but her knowing smile didn't fade, "That's not a very long walk. I would have thought you'd be back before now if that's as far as you went."

I couldn't understand what was going on. I had no idea as to why she was so curious about my walk. Had she seen me? "I ran into a friend of mine there."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm glad you had a good time. Why don't you go wash up for dinner? I would like you to set the table."

I nodded and walked past her, trying to understand her odd behaviour. I doubted she had seen the two of us or we'd be having a much different conversation since he was older than me, and my teacher, and a Greek god, but I couldn't think of any other reason.

I washed my hands in the bathroom and went to dry them. It wasn't until I caught sight of my reflection as I was about to leave that I realized the reason for my mothers curiosity. I felt my eyes widen.

I raised a hand to my neck and touched the dark purple mark that was highly visible about the collar of my T-shirt. It was very sensitive and the pressure against it caused me to blush as I remembered how it got there. I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. How was I supposed to explain a hickey to my mom?

"I'm going to kill Hermes."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

 **Note***- Will be boy x boy. (I promise, it is coming) Don't like? You don't have to read.**

ΩΩΩ

 **Percy POV**

Dinner was just as bad as I had feared it would be. Both Paul and my mom spent the entire time not so subtly fishing for hints about my, and I quote, 'mysterious new boyfriend'. I tried telling them that Hermes wasn't my boyfriend, albeit without using his name. After all, he never had officially asked me out so it wasn't even a lie. I didn't even know for sure if that's what he wanted from me but, whether it was true or not, they didn't believe me.

I guess I couldn't blame them to much though. It wasn't like I regularly made out with strangers. Either way, I was glad when I finished eating. I really didn't want to hear any more of their jokes about being 'safe'. No parent should ever joke with their kids about that... it was just awkward.

After I had put the dishes in the dishwasher, I snuck away to my room with an excuse about not feeling well. Usually I would have watched a movie with them, but I just didn't want endure the jokes anymore. I closed the door and fell against it with a sigh.

I would have to talk to Hermes about leaving evidence in the future. He may not have to explain himself to anyone, but I was still in high school. My mom would want to know about who I was seeing. If Hermes intended to leave more hickeys in the future, than she would insist on meeting him. Considering she could see through the mist, she would recognize him. That definitely wouldn't end well.

"Stupid Greek gods..."

My hand went to the mark on my throat. It was slightly tender. Not exactly the pain of a bruise, but still overly sensitive. I couldn't stop the blush that accompanied the memories attached to it. I could hardly believe that I had made out with the god of travellers in the middle of the park. I did have a habit of forgetting about everything around me when he was with me though.

Whether it was normal for me or not, that had been one of the most arousing things I had ever done. I pressed a little harder and shivered. I could still feel the ghost of his lips on my throat. Remembering how his voice had sounded when he said good-bye combined with the memory of his body pressing mine down into the bench had me biting my lip.

I took a deep breath to try to calm my body, but it was no use. Now that I had the privacy to think about this afternoon, my mind refused to let me force the thoughts aside.

 ** _***Lime starts***_**

I felt jeans tightening and I groaned. I tried to think about math, or the underworld, or Annabeth, but it was no use. Nothing was doing anything to decrease my rapidly hardening erection.

I sighed and shook my head. There was no point in trying to force my mind to think of something else. I obviously wasn't going to be able to do anything until I had taken care of it.

I walked towards my bed and took off my shirt. My pants and underwear soon followed. I was fairly self-conscious about what I was about to do since my mom was still awake and just down the hall, but I knew that neither she nor Paul would walk in without being invited. They may have become over protective since I got back from Greece, but they did respect my privacy.

As I wrapped my hand around myself, I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. As much as I tried not to think of him though, my thoughts were inevitable drawn to Hermes. Figuring that it was unavoidable anyway, I decided to give in and let the memories come...

 _We were in the park. Hermes was half laying on me, pushing me into the bench._

 _When he nipped at the sensitive point just above my shoulder, I felt my hips buck up a little into him. His hands clenched a little tighter and I felt him bite down hard on the spot. Before I could complain, he soothed the spot with a soft tongue. He then started to nibble and suck at the incredibly sensitive point. I tangled my hands in his golden hair as I felt my body beginning to shake._

 _He gave a hard suck and I couldn't stop the moan that spilled from my lips. I opened my eyes, surprised that the noise had come from me. Now that I had a brief reprieve from the pleasurable fog, I realized that the other people in the park were looking at us in shock._

 _I tightened my hands in Hermes hair and he let of a pleasured groan in response. I blushed at the reaction while filing it away for future knowledge. The god of thieves looked up when I tugged again and noticed that my attention was elsewhere. Seeing the people watching us, he gave a disappointed sigh, but pulled back to let me sit up..._

My body was thrumming with arousal at the thoughts, so I let my mind try to imagine what could have happened next...

 _I went to fix my shirt but the god of travellers grabbed my hand and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Don't bother Perce; it's just going to get messed up again."_

 _I looked at him in surprise. I blushed at the possible meaning, but I stood up and followed when he gently pulled on my arm. I followed him out of the park and down the street until we got to an empty alley. He pulled me against him and kissed me once more._

 _"Close your eyes Percy."_

 _I frowned in confusion but did what he asked. A moment later I felt the world rotate in an unhealthy way and when I opened my eyes, it was to a completely different place._

 _We were in a bedroom. Looking out the window I could see Olympus. I could only guess that it was Hermes house. The room reminded me a bit of the Hermes cabin at camp, but I didn't spend a lot of time looking around. Most of my focus was on the huge bed set against the wall._

 _The god of thieves nuzzled my neck before playfully nipping at my earlobe. "Now, where were we?"_

 _I shivered at his husky tones and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Pulling his lips towards mine, I stopped when they were just a hairsbreadth away. "Somewhere about here I think."That said I closed the final distance between us._

 _I was so lost in the taste of his lips that I hadn't even realized we were moving until my knees hit the bed. I fell back against the soft sheets and the god of athletes climbed on top, caging me in with his arms. I shivered at the feeling of him body lying flushed with mine. I moved a little bit, causing him to moan when our erections brushed against each other._

 _I shivered as I looked up at the god of thieves, his eyes filled with a mischievous light._

 _He leaned down to nip at my neck again, his breath brushing against my skin, "Cum for me Perce..."_

My eyes shot open as I reached my crescendo. I continued to stroke myself until it stopped, then I allowed my hand to drop, suddenly exhausted by the overpowering orgasm.

 ** _***Lime Ends***_**

I lay there unmoving for a few minutes, the aftershocks still wracking my body. My fantasy had definitely taken on a life of its own by the time I reached the end. I couldn't help but blush when I looked at the mess on my stomach.

I grabbed some tissues and cleaned myself off the best I could before just sliding beneath my sheets. I didn't have the energy necessary to do anything more right now. Besides, pajamas were vastly overrated.

ΩΩΩ

When I woke up, the first thing I did was head to the shower. I felt a little grossed out from sleeping the way I had.

Once I was washed, teeth and hair brushed, and wearing clean clothes, I felt more like myself. I was shocked to realize that it was already almost noon. I went out to the kitchen, surprised that my mom had let me sleep in so late, even if it was vacation. The reasoning behind it became apparent when I saw the note stuck to the fridge.

 _Gone out to finish Christmas shopping, we'll be back for dinner._

 _Love you,_

 _Mom and Paul._

I smiled at the note as I poured myself a bowl of cereal. I had finished shopping last week thanks to Annabeth. She may have been a bit bossy sometimes, but at least she made sure I did what I needed to.

I ate my breakfast as I tried to figure out what I should do with the day. The god of Travellers said that he planned to see me sometime today, but he didn't specify when or where. Besides I wasn't some damsel in a book. I wasn't going to sit around and wait for my prince.

I was just contemplating heading over to see if Annabeth wanted to hang out when there was a knock on the door. I took the last sip of milk and ditched my bowl in the sink on my way to get it. Considering no one had buzzed to be let in, I was guessing it was our neighbour Mrs. Gibbs.

The little 68 year old woman lived next door. She was really sweet and came over at least ever couple of days to borrow something or just to chat for a bit with my mom. She insisted that I call her grandma since she had so many grandchildren already she was used to it. Ever since her youngest son had moved back to New York last month though, her visits had decreased since she was often looking after his ten year old daughter. His other 2 kids were my age and didn't want to babysit but she was more than happy to spend time with her youngest grandchild.

So when I opened the door expecting the white-haired woman, I was shocked to see the handsome son of Zeus waiting for me. His sandy blond hair really made his blue eyes stand out.

He smirked at me and leaned against the doorjamb. "Hello Percy." I opened and closed my mouth a few times but I couldn't think of what to say. He lifted one eyebrow and winked. "What no response? I know I'm amazing but considering how close we are, I would have thought I'd get a warmer welcome."

I finally shook off my surprise. "Sorry Apollo, I just wasn't expecting you."

The god of the sun shrugged. "It's okay. It's not the first time people have been struck silent by my epic-ness." He stood up straight and walked past me into the apartment without waiting to be invited. Unsure as to what was happening; I just closed the door and followed him towards the living room. The god of music looked around my house nodding. "I have to admit, it looks different from street level. I'm more used to the Google Earth version."

I had no idea how to respond to that so I just nodded. "Okay. Um... what exactly are you doing here?"

His blinding smile never faded. "What, I can't stop by to see an old friend without a reason?"

"I... suppose?"

He laughed. "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you, if you'll do something for me."

I already had the attentions of one god whose motives I didn't fully understand. I didn't want to add another to the mix.

I hesitated to answer, "What exactly did you want?"

My face must have given away my worries because he shook his head laughing, "Oh, no. I'm not looking for that. Although..." I didn't like the way he gave me a once over. "I definitely see the appeal. However, I don't really want to piss off Poseidon by seducing another little cousin. He's very overprotective of you, you know. If he wasn't... well, it might be a different story."

I had no idea how to respond to that. "So what do you want then?"

"Simple. Ask in the form of a poem."

I was very confused. "What? Why?"

He shrugged. "Because, I don't have any quests that I could give you right now and you owe me a poem."

I shook my head in confusion. "Okay. Umm..." I had never been good at poems but judging by the ones I'd heard him recite, it didn't have to be great. I mental counted the syllables as I spoke. "Hello Apollo, why exactly are you here... I don't understand."

He snorted. "That was terrible."

I frowned. "Hey, it had the right amount of syllables."

He shook his head and put on hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay Percy. Not everyone has my amazing gifts."

I barely suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. "So are you going to tell me?"

He winked and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "This is going to be fun."

I was so lost. Before I could ask what he was talking about though, the door to our apartment flew open hard, nearly smashing through the wall behind it. A furious god of thieves stormed in glaring at his brother. I tried to pull away, but the sun god used his strength to keep me from moving.

The son of Leto smiled, "Hermes, how nice to see you!"

His half brother glared. If looks could kill, the sun god would be ash. "What are you doing here Apollo?"

I was rather hoping that he would answer considering I was wondering the same thing.

The immortal with his arm around my shoulders pouted. "What, no hello? I'm hurt." Hermes rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't answer. "I just came by to talk to Percy. I figured I could ask him out to dinner tonight. What do you say? Do you..."

"No."

I looked over at god of travellers. I was a little annoyed at Hermes for answering for me. I would have said the same thing, but that wasn't the point. I was free to make my own choices. I would have to tell him that, but considering he looked ready to slip into his immortal form at any moment, I decided that it would probably be best to wait a bit.

Apollo gave him a surprised look that even I could tell was faked. "No? Why not? And why would it concern you anyway?"

Hermes immediately froze. "I..." He glanced between me and the god who was still holding me hostage for a few moments before he seemed to come to a decision, "Because Percy is my boyfriend."

"Really? Are you dating Hermes, Percy?"

I looked at the god of thieves. I could tell that he was hoping I was going to say yes to his unasked question. It wasn't the most romantic way to ask someone out, but it was an interesting one.

I blushed at the god of travellers and nodded, never looking away from his gaze. "Yes. Hermes is my boyfriend."

The breathtaking smile I got from Hermes was worth any embarrassing scene with his brother.

"Good, it's about time the two of you got that settled." Before I could react to his words, the god of the sun pushed me towards my new boyfriend.

"Wait, what?" I looked back at the music god.

The son of Leto winked, "By the way Hermes. Unless you want dad to find out about the two of you, I suggest that you keep your activities indoors."

I felt my eyes widen in mortification as I finally understood Apollo's earlier reference to Google Earth. I felt a dark flush rush to my cheeks. Out the corner of my eye I saw that Hermes was sporting a similar blush. The god of the sun flashed me another wink before he got one last dig in.

"Don't have too much fun you two, or do, just not where I have to see it." He waved once before closing the door behind him.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

 **Authors Note**

Surprised to see Apollo? So was I. LOL. I can't help but write him as the world's biggest flirt. It's just too much fun.

Don't worry, I won't abandon this story. I started it so therefore I will finish it, but I've decide that this will be my last M rated story. I just find it nearly impossible to motivate myself enough to work on them.

I'll try to update in a more timely manner.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

 **Note***- This story is boy x boy. Don't like? You don't have to read.**

ΩΩΩ

Percy POV

After the sun gods sudden departure, we fell into an awkward silence. Neither of us moved for almost a full five minutes before the son of Zeus cleared his throat.

"I'm uh... sorry about my brother."

I blushed. "It's okay." I finally forced myself to meet his gaze. "So your boyfriend, hey?"

The god of thieves blushed even brighter and rubbed the back of his neck. "That wasn't exactly how I had planned to ask you but, ya?" Even though I was still mortified by the thought of our exchange in the park being watched by his brother, I felt my heart swell at that thought. Apparently he was waiting for a proper answer though, because when I didn't say anything, his face fell. "Unless of course, you don't want to and you just said that because you were put on the spot. That's... perfectly fine too. I don't want to make you feel like you have to say yes just because I'm..."

I cut him off by leaning in and stealing a short kiss. I pulled back before he could really respond, surprised by my own bravery. "I wouldn't have said yes unless I meant it." The look of pure joy he gave me had clearing my throat and looking down. "So did we have a plan for today?"

I felt most of the awkward atmosphere from earlier melt away as he shrugged. "I'm not really sure now. I'd planned to meet you after you'd left the house, but now I'm not so certain hanging out around a park again is such a good plan."

I frowned, "How'd you know I was going to leave the house? Maybe I was planning on bumming around in my pajamas all day watching cartoons."

The god of travellers laughed. "I know you Perce. I know that there is no way you'd normally waste a beautiful sunny day like today cooped up. How do you think I found you in the park yesterday?"

I found I couldn't really argue with him on that, but it also reminded me of something else. "By the way..." I punched him in the arm and frowned.

Hermes gave me a shocked look and rolled his shoulder a little. "Ouch? What was that for?"

I crossed my arms and gave him an unimpressed look. "That, my friend, is payback. You leave a visible mark, I do too."

He frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? I've never..." I gestured towards my neck and his eyes widened in realization before he started laughing. "Oh!"

My frown deepened. "It's not funny. Do you have any idea how many references my mom made to it?" If anything, it just made him laugh harder. I glared. "Laugh it up."

He shrugged his shoulders, completely unapologetic. "I don't know what you expect me to say Perce. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying."

"You're not sorry now, but you will be when my mom makes me introduce the two of you and then she bans you from seeing me because she will recognize you in an instant."

That made him stop laughing, but it didn't kill the amusement in his eyes. "I am sorry that your mom was grilling you about it, but I'm not going to apologize for doing it."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know why you did it in the first place."

I felt him step closer and wrap his arms around my waist. I met his eyes and was surprised to see just how serious he looked. He lifted one hand to brush his fingertips across my cheek. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just wanted to let the world know that you were mine? I despised seeing the way Chantel, James, and Apollo were looking at you. You've had me for months already, whether you knew it or not. Even if in the end you didn't want me, I'd still have been yours. Maybe I just wanted a way to convince everyone else that you were taken too."

I was struck silent by the depth of emotion that I could see in his eyes. I felt my heart pick up its pace and I bit my lip. I didn't know how to respond to that. I wasn't exactly the most eloquent of people at the best of times. After a speech like that, I reacted in the only way I could, by pressing my lips to his.

ΩΩΩ

I spent a moment simply luxuriating in the kiss before I gently nipped at his bottom lip. I felt more than heard his contented hum as the god of athletes slid his hand back from my cheek and curled it in my hair. I shivered at the feeling, but I didn't let it distract me from my explorations.

I gently sucked on his lip before running the tip of my tongue along it. I had to nip at his lip a second time before he finally granted me access. It didn't take me long before I had coaxed his tongue into joining the dance.

It was the same kind of slow passionate kiss that we had shared in the park. The only difference was that now we didn't have to worry about being interrupted. That thought led me to thinking about my fantasy, which caused me to blush and slowly pull away. I didn't pull far enough back to leave his arms, just enough so that I could rest my forehead against his. I was rather pleased to note that I wasn't the only one breathing faster than normal.

I had a sudden thought that caused me to chuckle. Hermes raised one eyebrow in question and I couldn't help but smile. "I was just thinking that I really wouldn't mind spending the day at home. This is much better than a park."

The god of thieves smiled before stealing another short kiss. "I know what you mean."

ΩΩΩ

Eventually we grew tired of standing in the living room, so I gave him the tour. It wasn't a particularly long tour, but I still found myself pausing for a moment before I opened the door to show him my room.

I'd never brought a boyfriend to my room before. The few dates that I'd been on with guys had never gone further than a kiss at the door. It felt like a pretty big deal that I was showing him my room. I drew a deep breath and opened the door.

The god of travellers stepped in and looked around. I felt a little self-conscious as I remember that I hadn't even made my bed. It was a habit that I only tried to keep when I was at camp. I was very grateful that I had at least cleaned up the dirty clothes earlier since it was laundry day tonight.

Hermes looked around the room and smiled back at me. "It's very blue."

I rubbed the back of my neck and shrugged. "What can I say, I like the colour."

He laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I like it. It's very you."

I smiled at him as my heart kicked itself into overdrive. It occurred to me that I was in my bedroom with my boyfriend and we were the only ones home. Judging by the way his eyes darkened, I wasn't the only one thinking it. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I started leaning towards him.

Our lips had just brushed against each other when he pulled back and turned towards the front door with a frown.

"What's wrong?"

He glanced back at me and shook his head. "Nothing, but your mom is home. I can hear her looking for her keys." I gasped and pulled back. Hermes took in my expression and nodded. "Don't worry; we can continue this another time."

He gave me a smile and stole a quick kiss before stepping further into my room.

I turned towards the front door when I heard it open. "Percy? Are you home?"

"Um... ya. Be out in a second!" I felt myself beginning to panic. I turned around to tell Hermes that he could use the fire escape, but he was already gone.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

 **Authors Note**

Long time no see. In other news, I plan on updating this story again within the next week.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.**

 **Note***- This story is boy x boy. Don't like? You don't have to read.**

ΩΩΩ

The next few days seemed to speed by. My mom convinced me to help her do the rest of the Christmas baking. My help mostly consisted of occasionally stirring something while she went check whatever was in the oven and 'testing' whatever delicious baking she had just finished.

I was eternally grateful to whichever god or goddess had made them slow down on the boyfriend jokes. I knew they probably would never let me live down coming home with a hickey, but at least they only mentioned it about 10 times a day rather than the 60 I'd heard at first.

I spent the next two days after Apollo's visit helping Paul and my mom finish cleaning and decorating for Christmas. Every year my mom would promise herself that we'd get an early start on decorating, but we never did. I was pretty certain I'd got my procrastinating habits from her.

On Christmas Eve, Annabeth and her family came over to the apartment. I was incredibly happy when my mom told me that she had invited the Chase family over for the evening.

Annabeth's dad and Paul had always got along really well. While the rest of her family was chatting with Paul and my mom, the two of us went to my room to do our gift exchange.

I started laughing when I opened the beautifully wrapped box that Annabeth had got for me. I pulled out a hideous Christmas sweater. It was dark blue with snowflakes on it. On the front it had a huge bright green Christmas tree, complete with lights that flashed. I immediately decided that I was going to wear it on Christmas.

When Annabeth pulled out the tissue paper that I'd shoved in the top of the gift bag I'd gotten for her, she started laughing too. She pulled out her very own ugly Christmas sweater. I'd found her a light grey one with an owl on it. The owl was wearing a bright green scarf and a pair of reindeer antlers, with garland strung between them. I'd gone to four different stores looking for the perfect sweater when I'd found that one.

She pulled on her sweater and shook her head, torn between grimacing and laughing in amusement.

Knowing that our families would be coming to look for us soon, I decided to quickly tell her what had happened with Hermes. I hadn't had a chance to talk to her since after our non-date date. When I looked back on it now though, I did begin to wonder if it had been a real date all along.

Annabeth wasn't nearly surprised as I had been when I told her Hermes had asked me out. I was pretty sure she'd known he liked me a lot longer than I had but before I got a chance to ask her, her dad came into my room and told us that dinner was ready.

ΩΩΩ

After dinner, we spent the rest of the evening watching old Christmas movies. It was one of the best Christmas Eve's of my life.

The only thing that would have made it better was if I'd been able to see Hermes. I hadn't seen my boyfriend since the day he'd asked me out. I understood why though. Neither of us was ready to tell my mom that we were dating and I hadn't had the chance to get out of the house in days.

Still, when I went to bed that night, I was incredibly content.

ΩΩΩ

It didn't matter how old I got, I still woke up early on Christmas mornings. Not as early as I did when I was a kid, but I was still normally up no later than 7:30 in the morning.

When I got to the kitchen, my mom was already awake and had started cooking breakfast. I smiled when I saw the stack of blue pancakes already on the stove. My mom looked over when she heard me and laughed when she saw my new sweater. I gave her a quick hug and went to start the coffee pot. I knew that Paul would want a cup when he woke up.

My mom had just put the last pancake on the stack when Paul came out to the kitchen. As excited as I was to open gifts, we always had a family breakfast first. Once all the pancakes were gone, only then did we get to go open our presents.

We always started with stockings. I didn't care that I was already 17; Santa always came to our house. As far as I was concerned, that was never going to change.

ΩΩΩ

Once all our gifts were unwrapped, we sat in the living room together with a movie playing in the background. I sat on the floor next to the couch playing with the iPod that Paul and my mom had bought for me. My mom was wrapped up in the new blanket Paul had bought her, drinking her morning coffee out of the Poseidon mug that I'd found for her at the museum that Annabeth had made me go to a few months back. Paul was sitting next to her, already wearing the bright blue bunny slippers I'd found for him, playing with the new shield that Tyson had sent me. He was amazed at its ability to switch from a watch to a shield.

It was a laid back day. The three of us thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet of a family Christmas. We just had a small diner as the three of us were stuffed from snacking on my mom's baking all day. When it finally started to get late enough to go to bed, I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek and said good night. I wanted to give them a bit of time to themselves on Christmas. They would never ask for it, but I was sure that they would appreciate the ability to watch a movie together, just the two of them.

ΩΩΩ

I didn't even bother getting ready for bed. After a long day of doing nothing, I was ready to go to sleep. I just flopped down, face first, on the bed and immediately jumped back up with a hiss of pain. I flicked on my bedside lamp, and frowned. In the middle of my bed was a small, rather pointy, box.

I picked it up in confusion. I was absolutely positive that it hadn't been there in the morning, so I wasn't really sure how it had gotten there. Before I could wonder too much about it, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

I immediately pulled away, dropping the gift. My hand went to my pocket but I recognized who it was before I pulled out Riptide.

"Di Immortals, Hermes. You gave me a heart attack."

The god of travellers chuckled and put a finger to his lips. "Quiet Percy, you don't want your mom to know I'm here, do you?"

I froze at the reminder. I snuck over to the door and peered out, but both Paul and my mom were still curled up together on the couch. I sighed in relief and closed the door.

I looked back at the son of Zeus to see him sitting on my bed. When he caught me looking at him, he winked. I rolled my eyes. "If you don't want my mom to find out, then you can't scare me like that."

He shrugged, "Don't worry. Even if she'd heard you, I would have been able to disappear before she got here."

"That's not the point…" I frowned as something else occurred to me. "How did you get in here in the first place?"

Hermes chuckled. "I'm a god Percy. We don't actually have to use the front door you know."

"Oh, ya, right." I hadn't thought of that. "So, did you have a good Christmas?"

The blue eyed man gave me a bemused smile. "Well most of us gods don't actually celebrate Christmas, but I suppose I did."

"Right, I knew that…"

I felt like an idiot. I could chat with Hermes for hours normally and never have an issue but now, all I could think about was the fact that the two of us were once again alone in my room. Judging by the satisfied smirk on his lips, Hermes seemed to be enjoying the fact that he'd successfully turned my brain into kelp.

I made a conscious effort to say something that actually made sense. "So why are you here?"

"I just came by to give you this." He opened his hand to reveal the small pointy box that I'd fallen on earlier. Suddenly how it got on my bed made a lot more sense. He almost looked nervous when he offered it to me, "Merry Christmas Percy."

I tilted my head in confusion. "I thought the gods didn't celebrate Christmas."

He shrugged, "But you do."

I bit my lip as I took the box. I lifted the lid and felt my eyes widen in surprise. It was a surfer style necklace. It was plain black leather cord with a small conch shell in the middle. On either side of the shell there was a sky-blue and sea-green bead. I didn't wear a lot of jewellery other than my camp half-blood necklace, but I instantly knew I'd wear it every day.

"Hermes, I love it." I looked up with a smile. I was surprised to see that Hermes was definitely blushing.

"Look at the shell."

I was confused, but I did as he asked. At first, I didn't see what he was talking about. When I did though, it was my turn to blush. On one side of the shell, there was a tiny trident etched in. On the other side, there was a small caduceus.

I hadn't even noticed Hermes move until I felt his arms wrap around me again. "What do you think?"

My blush became even more pronounced when he whispered in my ear. I bit my lip, trying to keep my mind from once again noticing that the two of us were alone.

"It's perfect."

To keep myself from doing something stupid, I decided to put it on. I took the necklace out of the box and undid the clasp.

"Let me." Before I could say anything, Hermes took it out of my hands. He did the clasp for me and kissed the back of my neck.

I was fairly certain that if any more blood rushed to my face, I'd pass out. Rather than focusing on how embarrassed I felt, I touched the pendent. It was just long enough that I'd be able to tuck it under the collar of my shirt.

I turned around and smiled up at my boyfriend. I leaned my head up and stole a kiss. "Thank you Hermes."

He smiled and kissed me back, much deeper than the one I'd given him. I had just started to lean into the kiss when he pulled back with a sigh. He wrapped his arms back around my waist and leaned his forehead against mine.

"I probably shouldn't kiss you like that."

I raised one eyebrow and gave him a teasing smile. "Why? I wasn't complaining."

I felt a rush of pleasure when that caused him to suck in a deep breath and tighten his arms.

He gave me a playful glare. "You're not really helping my resolve to be a gentleman here, Perce."

I chuckled and shrugged. "I never said I was trying to help."

He shook his head in disbelief and kissed me again. He sighed as he pulled back. "True, but at the same time I don't think your mom would be to happy if she ever found out I'd ravished you while she was just down the hall."

I was torn between arousal and mortification at that thought. The god of Thieves clearly understood what I was thinking. He gave me a soft smile and brushed his thumb against my cheek.

"I should go."

 _*Hints of citrus*_

Rather than admitting he was right, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Before he could complain or try to pull back, I ran my tongue across his lip. He froze for a moment then shivered. I felt a rush of arousal when he opened his mouth to my exploration.

I pulled his tongue into a dance with mine. His hands tightened on my hips when I nipped at his bottom lip. Our mouths battled for dominance of the kiss, teeth, tongue, and lips trying to distract the other one long enough for one of us to take control. A sharp nip to his top lip followed by a soothing lick, and he surrendered to me.

I felt a rush of courage when I managed to win. It made me far bolder than I would have been otherwise. A moan tore its way out of his throat when I thrust my tongue into his mouth in a suggestive manner. When I wound my fingers through his hair and tugged, he pulled back, gasping for breath. His eyes were blown wide by desire.

My heart started beating even faster at the thought that I was the one who did that to him.

He opened his mouth, but he had to clear his throat before he could speak. "Now I really need to leave, before I do something that I'll regret."

I gave him a slight frown, "And if I said that I wanted you to stay?"

Before I could even register the movement, I was lying on my back on my bed, with the god of thieves pinning me down.

I opened my mouth to say… something, but nothing came out. To say that I was hard would be the understatement of the year.

Hermes nodded at me as though I'd said exactly what was on his mind, "Precisely. If I don't leave now, this will go much further than we want it to tonight."

Before I could argue, he nipped at my mostly faded hickey. I bucked my hips automatically and both of us shivered at the movement.

He took a deep steadying breath and stood up, leaving me lying on my bed looking up at him.

"Trust me when I tell you that I don't want to leave either Percy. But we don't need to rush this, certainly not when your mother is just down the hall." He straightened his clothes, but his flushed face and messed up hair still screamed of exactly what we'd just been doing.

I sighed. I knew he was right, but that didn't mean I wanted to accept it, "I guess."

I sat up and tried to subtly adjust myself.

It clearly wasn't subtle enough as Hermes eyes snapped down to my jeans. Before I could get too embarrassed, he gave me a knowing smile and winked. "Don't worry; you're not the only one who was affected."

I tried and completely failed to keep my eyes on his face. He didn't seem to mind my wandering gaze in the least though.

"I promise we'll get there, but not tonight."

 _*Citrus over*_

I nodded, reluctantly accepting that he was right. "Merry Christmas, Hermes."

"Merry Christmas, Percy." He gave me a playful smile. "By the way, I forgot to say, nice sweater."

Before I could respond, he started to glow and I had to look away. When the glow faded, he was gone. I took a deep breath and collapsed backwards onto my bed. I looked down at the ugly Christmas sweater I'd forgotten that I was wearing and grimaced.

"Oh gods, why did I wear this?"

Hermes was never going to let me live this down.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ

 **Authors Note**

So much for a week... I've been struggling a lot with writing lately, but I've begun to force myself to write again anyway. Once I get started I enjoy it, but its starting that's the issue.


End file.
